Macron is a Thatcherite with a Public Relations Makeover: all earnest young ‘Reformer’ that will lead France into the bright Neo-Liberal Future. He is not the Speed & Shock of Fillon, but the expression of the ‘Hope & Change’ of Obama, yet the fact is, that 60% of voters said they voted for Macron rather than for Le Pen. In an American context that would express the tired cliche of ‘The Lesser of Two Evils’ . The Financial Times is for once in harmony with the political sentiments of the voters :‘Above all, he is not Marine Le Pen.’
The rest of this editorial is window dressing wedded to ‘reformist cliches’. That avoids through the use of triumphalist rhetoric, the fact that Macron presidency will be fraught with constant conflict, as he attempts to make alliance with actual political parties: how does one govern without a political party structure? except by strategic alliances. Macron’s ‘reforms’ will simply exacerbate the fractious nature of French politics.That seems to me an elementary fact of French political life. All the French need do is look across the Channel to see the utter failure of Neo-Liberalism, no matter how Macron will garnish his warmed-over repast.